Local animal rescuer’s death leaves animals in need of help

by Rebecca Poling of DFW Animal Rescue

• Tweet
• Email
• Print
• 2 Comments

One dog and seven cats Jim Harvey owned are still in need of homes.

What will happen to your pets when you die? Hopefully you have a will and a plan, and a relative or friend that will take your pets. That, of course, gets harder the more pets you have, and we all know rescuers tend to have plenty of pets.

So what would happen if, God forbid, you died today? Would your pets end up in a local shelter unwanted by your family, and at the mercy of your rescue friends and Good Samaritans in the community?

Jim Harvey, a local rescuer, passed away unexpectedly recently, and that is exactly what is happening to the nine dogs and seven cats he left behind. Confused and alone, they waited until someone discovered what happened, only to be scooped up and taken to the local animal shelter – a frightening experience for any pet, made worse by the length of time they’d spent alone and hungry.

Local rescuers are stepping up to help out, but they are facing many challenges. Time is of the essence for any animal in a shelter, and this case is no different. There is a finite amount of time these animals can stay where they are, and their health is being compromised by the level of stress they are experiencing. One of the dogs requires daily medicine and one of the cats is already quite fragile. A lack of information is compounding the challenge. Most of the information local rescuers have been able to put together came from Jim’s Facebook pages and websites. Vet records have to be painstakingly recreated – and making matters worse, local rescues and no-kill shelters are already full beyond capacity.

But you can help. Three of the dogs were placed with Jim’s friends, and five are being taken in by rescues. But one dog and all seven cats are still in need of homes – preferably permanent homes so they can start to settle in and begin the healing process as soon as possible.

Even if you aren’t comfortable making the commitment to adopt right now, consider becoming a temporary foster. That’s all it would take to save one of these pets. Several local rescues have indicated they would be able to help, if only they had an empty foster home. And all these cats need is a spare bathroom or spare bedroom to be happy.

Can’t foster or adopt? You can still help. Share this information with everyone you know. Every pet lover can relate to what has happened to these faithful companions, and everyone can understand how frightened and confused they must be. The rescue groups are full, so it’s up to our community’s pet lovers to step up and save these animals.

Everyone can do one of three things – adopt, foster, or share. Please – it only takes a minute.

Still in need:

Here’s a nice video of sweet Champ, the only dog with nowhere to go:

To foster or adopt, or for more information on fostering or adopting, email Monica (modogs06@gmail.com) and copy Barbara (srich@flash.net). Both women are volunteers, sharing the responsibility of helping these animals, so please use both email addresses.

Many, many thanks for Collin County Castaways for taking Maya, to Flower Mound Humane Society for taking Christy, and to Homeward Bound Animal Rescue, and Texas Little Cuties for taking Ronin, Libby, and Riley. These animals are safe for now but still need permanent homes. Please contact the rescues via the links provided. Ginny and Tucker were adopted together by one of Jim’s good friends, and Fawn will be going to her new home shortly.

For more information, visit the Facebook page Saving the Harveys.

Tweet